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FAQ

How do I get an appointment?

Office Sessions: To schedule a Mena appointment (or phone/Skype appointments), call Carolyn at 479 883-5492. If you are in crisis, be sure to tell the her so she can fit you in the same day if possible.

We offer daytime and evening appointments on Mondays, or other days or evenings by special arrangement if Mondays are impossible for you.Sessions last approximately 50 minutes.

Where is your office?

Dr.Tom’s office in in the Willowbrook Retreat Center at Mena, Arkansas, just 1 1/2 hours south of Fort Smith, 45 minutes north of DeQueen, 1 hour 20 minutes from Hot Springs. For appointments at the Mena office, call Carolyn at 479 883-5492 between 9 am and 9 pm. map and directions to Mena ACC Willowbrook

Who would my counselor be?

Dr. Tom MacMahon will be your personal counselor. He is licensed with the state of Arkansas as Licensed Professional Counselor, and has a dual Masters Degree in Counseling, and Marriage & Family Therapy, from John Brown University. He has a Doctor of Ministry from ORU, Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, and Bachelors in Communication from Ohio University, and undergraduate work at Elim Bible College in London, England. He is an ordained minister, and has over 25 years’ experience in ministry and counseling. He also is certified with the state of Arkansas to do both office counseling and Distance Counseling by telephone or Internet. He has written articles and books on marriages, and has been state advisor for the Marriage Course.

As Christian counselor, Dr. Tom addresses issues in an open and non-judgmental way. He will also address the spiritual aspect of the issues, as it seems appropriate. He respects individual differences in denominational preference. If you are not a Christian, he will still be able to give you quality care without imposing on your personal beliefs.

What is the cost, and what form of payment do you accept?

Counseling can be a one-time session at just $95 per session (or lower on the sliding scale, as low as $50), scheduled week by week as needed, depending on your situation. You can pay by cash, check, or credit card.

Dr. Tom is licensed to do distance counseling, either by phone, Skype, or Internet. Cost for telephone counseling is the same as office rates, or just $2 per minute for emergency calls, to be charged on Master Card / Visa / Discover credit card. You may be eligible for a lower rate according to our sliding scale.

Do you accept insurance? And what about “Obamacare”?

Most counseling is not actually covered by insurance, unless a Medical Doctor says counseling is necessary for physical health. Few counselors accept insurance, but they may say they “file insurance,” even though your claim may be denied. We know that most counseling is not accepted by insurance companies, so we work with you to make it affordable.

However, if you have unique insurance that will cover counseling, we can give you a receipt with the proper insurance industry codes on it so they can reimburse you.

We do not handle Medicare, Medicaid, ACA, or health insurance partly because of government data collection. ACC values your privacy, and does not give client information to NSA data banks. Hacking has become such a widespread threat that we do not place client information or progress report records on Internet. Counseling is a wise and helpful tool to improve your situation, but you do not want your government profile to be flagged as “mental health issues,” which is grossly unfair, but unfortunately the way counseling is categorized by the government.

We don’t want to have to make a choice between what’s best for our clients and what the government requires to receive reimbursement.

For the above reasons we have been able to reduce costs and offer a sliding scale and payment plan to clients who qualify.

How can I justify paying for counseling, when I have many financial obligations?

One way to look at the cost of counseling: a complete course of therapy may cost less than having one broken tooth repaired. Or one car repair. Isn’t your happiness worth far more?

Having peace and harmony in your life, with happy, smiling feelings is every bit as important as having a beautiful smile! You are worth it!

Dr. Tom wants to work with your budget: he has a sliding scale to give a lower rate to those struggling financially.